Mercedes-Benz Canada will have a new president and chief executive officer on Oct. 1.
Succeeding Eva Wiese will be Andreas Tetzloff, who has headed up Mercedes-Benz Russia since March.
Wiese will become managing director of Mercedes-Bez Customer Solutions GmbH.
“On behalf of Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Mercedes-Benz Cars North America, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Eva for the great work she has done to deliver on our strategic objectives in Canada,” said Dimitris Psillakis, head of marketing and sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars North America and CEO of MBUSA, in a news release.
“Eva’s collaborative approach has helped manage the business through an extremely volatile environment, including COVID-19, inventory shortages and supply chain complications,” Psillakis said. “Eva has also established a strong and trusting relationship with our national dealer network, who will continue to be the driving force of change as we move to a fully electric and digital future.”
Tetzloff joined Mercedes-Benz AG in 1992, where he worked in Own Retail and eventually became sales director in Berlin in 2008.
He was managing director of Porsche in Hamburg, Germany, from 2011-2014, and was managing director of the Germany’s dealer groups from 2015-2019. Tetzloff returned to Mercedes-Benz Own Retail as sales director for the Rhine-Main territory, before leading Mercedes-Benz Russia.
“We are thrilled to welcome Andreas to Canada to build on the strong foundation in place. His vast retail and sales experience will serve Mercedes-Benz Canada's customers and dealer network well as we continue to focus on leading in electric, while pairing our highly desirable luxury products with a seamless customer journey,” Psillakis said.
Auto Financial Group Canada has named a new operations manager. Promoted to the role is Rachel Fern, who has been with the company for more than four years.
Fern will work with all departments in AFG’s Canada operations and Houston head office.
Her duties include identifying trends and opportunities, while monitoring business activity changes.
“In the four years Rachel has been with our administrative group, she has become a valued member of the AFG Canada team. Rachel has been the key liaison in AFG Canada's integration with Inovatec and she has also taken the lead in aligning the goals of AFG Canada for a successful partnership with CUDF (Credit Union Dealer Finance),” Mark Caschera, vice president for AFG Canada, said in a news release.
“We are pleased she has agreed to take on this expanded role,” he said.
TradeRev has a new president, parent company KAR Global said Tuesday.
Taking on the role is co-founder James Tani, who will also remain in his position as executive vice president of KAR’s Canadian dealer sales team.
Tani succeeds TradeRev co-founder Mark Endras, who has moved to the role of KAR’s senior vice president of product.
Both Tani and Endras will report to KAR chief digital officer James Coyle.
“As one of the co-founders of TradeRev and an industry veteran, I can’t think of anyone better suited to take over leadership of TradeRev,” Coyle said in a news release.
“As president of TradeRev, James will ensure we continue delivering the innovative products and services that have made it the leader in Canadian digital dealer-to-dealer auto sales,” he said. “In his dual role leading the Canadian sales team, his deep understanding of the full automotive ecosystem will keep us connected to dealers and their needs as we continue to expand and align our marketplaces.”
Tani co-founded TradeRev in Canada in 2011 with Endras, Wade Chia and Jae Pak, after 15 years of working in both retail and wholesale automotive.
He was EVP of sales for TradeRev, and then once the ADESA and TradeRev sales team merged under KAR, Tani became EVP of KAR dealer sales.
“It has been an incredible journey co-founding TradeRev, watching the company’s exponential growth and ultimately combining our capabilities with ADESA to offer dealers the most powerful wholesale marketplace in Canada,” said Tani. “I’m proud of where we’ve taken TradeRev and now as president, I’m thrilled to build on our momentum and deliver new innovative solutions to our customers. As we continue to streamline KAR Global’s portfolio of services, capabilities and offerings across our digital platforms, there’s no limit to the success we can help our customers achieve.”
Axis Auto Finance has a new board member.
The Canadian fintech company said Thursday it has named JM Holdings Corp. founder and chief executive officer Jim Nikopoulos to the board. Nikopoulos will replace Gerry Thom, who has retired from the position.
MJ Holdings is an investment company that has invested in early-stage companies in several industries.
Nikopoulos' prior positions include serving as founder and CEO of Core Data Centers, Inc., and president of ECN Capital Corp.
“We are very pleased to welcome Jim to our board of directors. His Canadian capital markets and director experience make him an excellent addition to our Board,” Axis CEO Todd Hudson said in a release.
“This is an exciting time in our company's development as we enter the next stage of growth driven by technology innovation. With Gerry Thom retiring, we wanted to bolster the strategy, corporate finance, M&A, governance and compliance experience on our Board, and Jim brings all these skills to Axis,” he added.
iA Auto Finance has a new president: longtime company veteran Charles Parent, iA said in a LinkedIn post last month.
“A trained actuary, a truly passionate, humble and honest person with 20 years of experience in the iA family: that's a brief portrait of Charles!” iA Auto Finance said in the post.
“And his leadership style? Where human values are at the forefront, where the development and involvement of his team members on a daily basis are valued, where the balance between growth and risk management is ensured and where offering a superior experience to our customers and dealer partners is a priority. This is very promising for our future!”
Before taking on the role of iA Auto Finance in December, Parent was with iA Financial Group, where he served in two different vice president roles over the course of four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before that, Parent was with the iA Excellence group for nearly 10 years in various positions, including chief operating officer.
He was the actuarial director of special market solutions at the iA Financial Group for nearly two years prior.
Canada Drives tapped an experienced executive from the entertainment and gaming worlds to be its new chief technology officer.
On Monday, the 100% online vehicle shopping and to-your-door delivery platform announced that Darcy Reno has joined the Canada Drives executive team as CTO.
As Canada Drives continues to expand its vehicle buying and selling platform, the company said Reno will oversee product engineering teams and the technical direction of current and future products to ensure we are implementing the newest technologies to better serve its customers.
According to a news release, Darcy brings more than 20 years of experience in leading, operating and investing in hyper-growth technology companies. Darcy was previously head of technology and CTO at organizations such as MPC, Bardel Entertainment and Electronic Arts.
Darcy joins Canada Drives following his latest role as co-founder and chief executive officer of FNX Technologies, which was acquired by LFX Digital last year.
“Canada Drives has enjoyed tremendous growth as a digital-first company, leveraging cutting-edge technology to solve the everyday challenges of buying a car,” Reno said in the news release. “I’m thrilled to support our mission to be the easiest way to buy or sell a car in Canada while continuing to drive positive change in the automotive industry.”
Canada Drives said it currently has more than 2,000 vehicles available for sale across British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, and inventory is rapidly expanding month-over-month.
And Darcy is being tasked with helping to keep those trajectories moving higher.
“We’re excited to welcome Darcy Reno to the team as we continue to deliver a best-in-class digital shopping experience to our customers,” Canada Drives co-CEO Cody Green said. “His experience in delivering scalable solutions for customer-centric products will be an incredible asset as we work towards fundamentally changing the way Canadians buy and sell cars.”
Green went on to say, “2021 was an extraordinary year for Canada Drives as we brought the country’s first truly 100% online car shopping experience to British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. With Darcy as our technology leader, we’re confident we can reach the ambitious milestones planned for 2022 and beyond.”
Houston-based Auto Financial Group reinforced its Canadian leadership this week.
The company announced that Mark Caschera has been appointed vice president of AFG Leasing Canada in a move meant to bolster AFG’s mission to expand its program in Canada to meet the rising consumer demand for leasing.
AFG explained the program can allow credit unions to provide leasing options to their members looking to lease both new and used vehicles. AFG manages the residual value risk and the vehicle turn-in process, making the leasing experience more convenient for members.
“We are pleased Mark has taken this new position following several years in the role of general manager. He is very experienced in all aspects of auto finance and leasing and we look forward to his continued success expanding our program in Canada,” AFG chief executive officer Richard Epley said in a news release.
AFG Canada president Peter Birks added, “Mark has been with CULA and now AFG Canada four years and is a highly valued member of our team. He has been very successful in creating and maintaining strong relationships with both our credit union and auto dealer partners.”
E Automotive Inc., which is the company behind the EBlock digital wholesale marketplace and the EDealer digital retail products, has hired a former Waze and Google executive as its first chief marketing officer.
Joining E Inc. as CMO is Emma Weisberg, who spent eight years at Google before founding the Blinkbuggy mobile app startup. Weisberg then became senior vice president of marketplace strategy at digital media technology company Yieldbot, later joining Waze.
She was global CMO of Waze Ads and head of consumer marketing at Waze North America.
“E Inc is an innovative technology company transforming the way automotive dealers buy, sell and manage inventory and thus impacting the consumer car shopping experience as well,” Weisberg said in a news release. “I look forward to bringing my background in the tech sector to help build and accelerate the brand to achieve its full potential.”
E Inc. chief executive officer Jason McClenahan added: “Emma is a highly-experienced and talented marketer with a proven track record of building and modernizing some of the world's largest brands.
“With her extensive brand transformation experience and data-driven background, we are confident she will strengthen and propel E Inc. — and thus EBlock and EDealer — to the next level,” he said.
Cox Automotive Canada has new leadership.
On Monday, Cox Automotive announced that Ola Ajayi-Salako has been promoted to senior director, agile delivery, and will act as the site leader for Cox Automotive Canada, effective immediately.
In this expanded role, the company said Ajayi-Salako will work closely with local teams and foster strategic collaboration between Canadian and U.S. leaders to ensure strong connectivity between all business units.
“As we bring our teams together to collaborate and drive more innovative solutions, we know that Ola is the perfect person to represent the Canadian market in the development of our North American approach,” Cox Automotive president Steve Rowley said.
The company described Ajayi-Salko as a transformational leader with strong management, communication, problem-solving and team building skills. Ajayi-Salako joined Cox Automotive in 2007 and has consistently driven targeted operating results in roles in both the United States and Canada, according to the company.
Previously as director, PMO and change management, the company mentioned Ajayi-Salako played an integral role in long-term planning across all Cox Automotive Canada businesses while aligning with other international and global businesses.
“Ola is passionate about community development and empowering women and youth,” Cox Automotive said.
Cox Automotive initiated executive changes in Canada in September.
Auto Remarketing Canada included Yolanda Biswah among the Women & Automotive Profiles in Leadership three years ago.
On Thursday, Biswah continued to show her leadership abilities, having landed another executive promotion at Canadian Black Book since joining the company in 2015.
CBB announced the promotion of Biswah to be senior vice president and general manager. In this role, the company said Biswah will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Canadian Black Book, with oversight that includes building sales strategy, spearheading new products, and maintaining strong customer relationships.
“The successes that Yolanda has had over the years growing our sales and her tremendous reputation with our clients make her the ideal candidate to lead the next phase of growth at Canadian Black Book,” said Tom Cross, executive vice president of Hearst Transportation and president of Black Book.
“We have been beyond pleased with her results and leadership, and I can think of no better choice to lead our operations in Canada,” Cross continued in a company blog post announcing the news.
With more than 28 years of sales and customer support management, CBB highlighted that Biswah has spent 16 years in the automotive industry.
In 2015, Biswah joined Canadian Black Book as the director of sales and customer experience. Last year, she was promoted to the vice president of sales, data licensing.
In her new role, CBB said Biswah will continue to report to Jared Kalfus, executive vice president of revenue at Black Book.
“It has been an honor to watch Yolanda’s professional growth since she joined Canadian Black Book. I look forward to seeing where she leads the brand next,” Kalfus said in the blog post. “She is an asset to not only our company, but to the industry as a whole.”
Biswah noted in the Women & Automotive Profiles in Leadership that she sought a career change from the wireless industry, prompting her to enter the automotive space and eventually to CBB, which pointed out that she has continued to trailblaze through her leadership positions.
Biswah has led the Kathy Ward Memorial Golf Tournament and recently has become the face of the Canadian Black Book Best Retained Value Awards.
“I am honored to continue Canadian Black Book’s history of strong, female leadership,” Biswah said. “This is a deep-rooted Canadian company, and I am proud to lead our diverse team.
“I look forward to being able to continue to bring advanced data and analytics to the market and fostering strong relationships with other automotive companies,” she went on to say.
